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Dimitri Phoenix
MEDITERRANEAN POP IDOL COMES TO TOWN as seen in CRYSTAL CULTURE MAGAZINE - 10/16/09. Crystal Springs has been become a hot spot for new celebrity residences this week, beginning with the arrival of Charles Townsend, Jr. of banking fame. Much to the town’s further surprise, the prospect of a new semi-permanent affluent addition became known to the city council last week, when official correspondence was opened with the management retinue of Greek musician and polyglot Dimitri Philemonopolous concerning his post-secondary education... See entire article in Crystal Culture. Personality Externally, Dimitri seems generally humble (if not self-deprecating), soft-spoken, and kind, and most people walk away from a conversation with Dimitri wondering how the fame hasn't gotten to his head. It's clear he enjoys acknowledgment and affection, and generally always returns what he's given (an exception being a hoard of crazy fans). He becomes easily lost in music and art, and always seems to have some helpful bit of insight to offer. He's not incapable of being firm, however, and will put his foot down when necessary, however rare this might be. Internally, there's an aching hole Dimitri tries to fill with affection that he craves equally as much as he fears - a fear of getting too close, chaining himself down, having to deal with expectations and responsibility. He's a terrible coward, which he realizes, and tries to forget with drugs, music, and study. Sheet * Attributes: ** Physical: Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3 ** Social: Charisma 4, Manipulation 2, Appearance 4 ** Mental: Perception 2, Intelligence 4, Wits 2 * Abilities: ** Talents: Athletics 3, Empathy 2, Expression 2, Insight 3, Persuasion 2, Primal Urge 2, (13 (14)) ** Skills: Etiquette 1, Performance 5 (Dance, Folk Instruments (Bouzouki, Dumbek, etc.), Greek Fiddle/Violin, Singing, Synthesizer/Beats), Research 1 (5 (7)) ** Knowledges: Academics 1 (History, Philosophy, Music Studies), Culture 2 (Traditions), Linguistics 5 (Arabic, Berber, Dutch, English, Farsi (Persian), French, Garou Glyphs, Garou Mother's Tongue, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish), Lore 1 (Black Furies, Garou), Politics 1 (9 (10)). * Advantages: ** Arts: Soothsay 3 (3) ** Realms: Actor 1, Fae 4 (5) ** Backgrounds: Allies 4, Contacts 4, Fame 5 (International Pop Idol), Pure Breed 3, Remembrance 3, Resources 4 (7 (23)) * Tempers: ** Willpower: 5 ** Glamour: 4 ** Banality: 3 * Gifts: **Sing Down Selene * Merits: Fast Learner (3), Supernatural Kinfolk (4) * Flaws: Addiction (2), Compulsion (1), Dark Secret (1), Inferiority Complex (1), Surreal Quality (2) Expanded Details * Specialties: **Charisma: Endearing **Appearance: Sex Appeal **Intelligence: Creative **Performance: Stage Presence **Linguistics: Metaphors/Idioms * Allies: #Helen "Storms the Gates of Hades", Athro Black Fury Galliard, Mother. #Mahmoud Arafi, Personal (International) Agent, Silent Strider Kinfolk. #Betty Henrietta, Associated Press Reporter. #Christoph Rosenford, Universal Records Agent. * Contacts: #Allen Gainsborough, Mayor of Crystal Springs. #Rachel Kelly, Editor of Crystal Culture. #Maria Favaloro, Impresario of Melpomene Hall. #Charles Townsend, Sr., Banker. * Merits: **Fast Learner: +learns are accelerated; additional 2 +learn slots. **Supernatural Kinfolk: Black Fury Kinfolk; related bonuses. * Flaws: **Addiction: Drugs; -2 dice on all rolls if going through withdrawal. **Compulsion: Seek acceptance and affection, help those in need of affection. **Dark Secret: Drugs, dereliction of kin responsibilities. **Inferiority Complex: +1 difficulty to take charge or seem confident. **Surreal Quality: Indescribably fascinating. Freebies *Chargen **+5 Attributes (1 Strength) **+4 Abilities (1 Expression, 1 Etiquette) **+6 Backgrounds (2 Remembrance, 4 Resources) **+6 Willpower (3) **+7 Merits **-7 Flaws ***Total: 21 *Experience 1 **+4 Abilities (2 Perform) **+10 Backgrounds (4 Allies, 4 Contacts, 1 Pure Breed, 1 Remembrance) ***Subtotal: 14 ***Total: 35 History Early It was a hard hit to Helen Philenopoulos when her husband Zale was killed during a fomor raid on the bawn she protected in the usually quiet Sept of the Nine (translated of course), a small Sept near Athens dedicated to the Muses. Their son, Dimitri, was presumably too young to remember the incident, but in truth, he suffered nightmares for many years because of it. Helen doted on him after, terrified and concerned for his well-being, and many of Helen's tribal sisters aided in the rearing of the child. Perhaps this is where his later fears took root. Not having a true father helped, as the male metis and other male kin of the Sept were acceptable but ultimately poor substitutes. Art was and continues to be a way of life at this Sept; both Kin and Garou alike practiced some kind of art that would please their patrons. Dimitri was dedicated to the Muse Euterpe even before Zale died, and was passed around between sisters dedicated to the same and taught the ways of the Furies and traditional instrumentation through story and song. It was through his music that Dimitri found an escape from the nightmares of death and the real world that surrounded him. In effect, he became lost to it. There was something otherworldly and surreal about the boy and his music, which always came easily, and was always a pleasure to hear, but held some other, indescribable element. Dimitri never attended public school, as Helen herself was never very well off, and much preferred to have her son with her as often as possible. Instead, he was lectured by the more-than-competent adherents of Calliope, Urania, and others, receiving a well-rounded education that of course focused on the application of music. Athletics also became an important pastime, as Dimitri always shied away from combat practice (and what that would ultimately entail), as it reminded him of that original fomor attack he could feel somehow, but never remember. Instead, he excelled at such competitive sports as wrestling and the marathon. Somewhere between Dimitri's willingness to help in other arenas, and Helen's clout, the boy managed to avoid any sorts of melee practice outside of the barest hints of self defense. This offered plenty of time for the study of Arabic, English, and Turkish, which offered access to the international music scene and Tarkan in particular, Dimitri's first major pop influence. Adolescence The Grecian Earthquake of 1999 effectively ended Dimitri's childhood. Much of the countryside was thrown into ruin, and the Sept suffered extensive damage of its own. Buildings crumbled and fell; streets lay cracked and unserviceable; even the forest seemed to be in pain, or so the crones would insist. The Umbra was certainly a mess, as banes took advantage of the general despair, and Helen was forced to leave her son for days at a time to deal with these problems. This was fine for Dimitri, who was not so rebellious as crushed between expectation and tradition (not to mention an overdoting mother), so in a burst of rare assertion, he took to the broken streets of Athens and the surrounding area to aid in the relief efforts, offering a strong arm (for his age), or comforting people with music and song. He was gone for weeks. Word got around of a multilingual kid who was acting as translator and entertainer. The relief effort was an international endeavor, with a large Turkish presence, and as such became Dimitri's big (accidental) break. It started with invitations to small time community concerts and projects between Greece and Turkey, and eventually escalated to larger venues... at least after some Discussion with his mother, who eventually found him amidst the ruins of the Athenian suburbs, and was Rather Displeased. However, while his mother became amenable to the Process after several compromises, many of the other Furies were Not. Dimitri was a relative high-bred treasure amidst the small Sept, and while they weren't pushing for children any time soon, it certainly was an expectation of the Kin, as was an eventual career of some kind to protect the Sept, if not to aid in the defense, himself. Also, the Veil. Further, Dimitri got it into his head that he was never good enough for these women (or at least the crones), who were always pushing for more, better, and unsubtly reminded him of his Duty to the tribe, and the War against the Wyrm and so on. The latter frightened him more than he cared to admit, and eventually drove him to sign a contract with Mahmoud Arafi, an agent his mother of all people discovered for him (a kinfolk agent was part of the compromise). Without informing the crones (or his mother), Dimitri left with Arafi and began his musical career, altering his name and trying not to look back much as possible. He also had the major international music languages under his belt by this point, including German, French, and Italian. He was about 14. Fame Despite his mother's irritation after the quake, it came to be known that Dimitri's aid had been a large factor in alleviating people's negative emotion, and thus preventing further bane possession in some cases. For this, he was awarded a Gift: a rare boon from a spirit messenger of Calliope, the entire process of which was negotiated by Helen and a local theurge. With the help of this gift, Dimitri's climb up the music charts accelerated beyond initial expectation. It started with a fusion of traditional instrumentation and dance beats, compounded with Dimitri's voice. And while the music was phenomenal for a young teen solo artist, what made his early career was the implementation of different languages: Dimitri would research idioms, traditions, and popular culture of a particular language-speaking people, and release a number of songs exclaiming motivational themes pertinent to that culture. It often got the boy involved in politics, which served to get him in the limelight even more, particularly in dance clubs. Unsurprisingly, what eventually served to skyrocket Dimitri's career was the sudden advent of sex appeal around age 16. Between keeping up with his athletics, a huge leap in puberty, and being able to afford better marketers, it suddenly became apparent to the international music world at large that Dimitri Phoenix was actually rather attractive. With more money came the opportunity to produce better music (with full symphonies!), tour more places (Amsterdam, Istanbul, Rome), and get better record deals (Universal, Sony). His albums came quickly; perhaps Calliope was riding on his shoulder. Music videos were filmed, concerts performed, often pulling crowds of over ten thousand in the larger cities (yet not quite topping Tarkan's immense numbers, but certainly heading towards that point). Present Of course, becoming famous always has its problems. Stalkers, threatening letters, and eventually being caught up with by your old Sept. Lovely! Dimitri had long since reconciled with his mother, who couldn't stay angry at him long. But even she couldn't fill a void that remained with Dimitri: One he tried to fill with music, the affection of fans, and eventually could only ignore with drugs. When rumors started flying around about a possible sordid past, questionable sexual orientation, and drugs, the Furies (and Helen) couldn't ignore Dimitri's dereliction of duty any longer (not to mention a questionable leaning towards the Wyrm). Through Arafi, they told him to come home. Instead, Dimitri and Arafi hatched a plan to escape the Garou pressure for a little longer (as without a doubt, the Sept of the Nine could pull strings and make trouble). It was leaked to the world-at-large that Dimitri was interested in a university education, and currently evaluating schools. It just so happens that the one that matched his own interests, had the best incentives, and was also the Farthest Away happened to be the University of Colorado at Crystal Springs... Albums *Note: Every album is multilingual outside of the English albums, which remained mostly English, though there are English tracks in the other albums. *2005 Album: Καλλιόπη / Calliope **Single: Το Χόβερκράφτ μου είναι γεμάτο χέλια (To hóverkráft mu íne gemáto hélia)/ My hovercraft is full of eels ***Critically noted for it's strange and eye-catching title and thematically appropriate, fast and tense rhythms accompanied by powerful vocals and melodic violin. *2006 Album: İlk Görüşte Aşk / Love at first sight **Single: Gözlerin çok güzel / Your eyes are beautiful ***Dimitri's first pop album, which topped the charts in Turkey and other Mid-East countries and made relatively high marks around Europe. *2006 Mini-Album: Bahibek / I love you **Single: Bosi-Bosi / Kiss-Kiss (cover) ***Another high-ranking pop album, widely held as a respectful nod to Tarkan, who performed a few duets with Dimitri during this album's tour. Smash hit in the Mid-East. *2007 Album: Ayat Iljamal / Miracle or Sign of Beauty **Single: Al-sama' Asraq / The sky is blue ***A more traditional, award-winning album with a fusion of pop and rehashed melodies from the relatively unknown 2005 album. *2007 Mini-Album: Solid Ground **Single: Sing down the stars ***First international big hit that actually made US charts, and did extremely well in Europe, especially in the UK, Netherlands, and Germany. *2008 Album: Smuovere mare e monti / To move heaven and earth **Single: Fede al di sopra del timore / Faith over fear ***Smash European hit with symphonic accompaniment and a number of well-to-do featured singers including Sarah Brightman. *2008 Mini-Album: יְהִי אוֹר (yehiy 'or) / Let there be light **Single: Δῶς μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω (Dōs moi pā stō, kai tan gān kināsō) / Give me a place to stand, and I will move the earth ***A return to the Mid-East; the hit single was performed in a variety of different languages and retooled to be appropriate each time. Included critically acclaimed artistic tracks. *2009 Album: Calling Home **Single: To the Muse ***This single was hailed as perhaps Dimitri's most powerful song, and topped charts the world over, even getting notice in China, Japan, and other Asian countries. Additional Pictures File:Charliedavid.jpg|Reposed. Category:Character Concepts Category:Changeling Category:Kinfolk Category:Satyrs Category:Black Furies